Integrity of DNA Evidence: The Supreme Court's New Guidelines for Criminal Investigations
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Biotechnology - DNA fingerprinting); Indian Polity and Governance (Judiciary - Supreme Court's powers, Police as a State Subject); Indian Law (Evidence Act).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary; Separation of powers; Criminal Justice System reforms.
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T): Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Awareness in the fields of Bio-technology.
Key Highlights from the News
The Supreme Court has issued new, nationwide guidelines to ensure the reliability and integrity of DNA samples in criminal cases.
The reason for the court's intervention is the lack of uniformity across the country in collecting, transporting, and storing samples.
New Guidelines:
Collected samples must be properly documented.
Must be delivered to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) within 48 hours of collection.
Samples should not be opened or altered without court permission.
A Chain of Custody Register must be maintained from the time of sample collection until the case is closed.
The court has also stated in previous rulings that errors in the Chain of Custody and the possibility of sample contamination would nullify the reliability of DNA evidence.
According to Indian law, DNA evidence is not a "substantive evidence," but merely an "opinion evidence" under Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act.
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